Latest Neuroprosthetics Stories

Great care should be taken when performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with a cardiac pacemaker. Henning Bovenschulte and his co-authors review recent findings in the latest issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109[15]: 270-5). MRI is generally contraindicated in patients with a pacemaker (PM) or an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD), because of the risk of life-threatening events. The devices and their sensors may interact with the...

Device could make cochlear implants more convenient Cochlear implants have restored basic hearing to some 220,000 deaf people, yet a microphone and related electronics must be worn outside the head, raising reliability issues, preventing patients from swimming and creating social stigma. Now, a University of Utah engineer and colleagues in Ohio have developed a tiny prototype microphone that can be implanted in the middle ear to avoid such problems. The proof-of-concept device has...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va., April 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --- A surgeon for WVU Healthcare has implanted a diaphragmatic pacemaker in a pediatric patient, making West Virginia University's medical center only the second in the country to use this device on a young patient, after Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland.Meg Throckmorton, 16, of Waynesburg, Pa., received the device after sustaining a high cervical spine injury resulting in quadriplegia while practicing for a dance...

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cameron Health, Inc. ("Cameron Health"), a pioneer in the development, manufacture and distribution of next generation implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Circulatory System Devices Panel voted 7-1 that sufficient data exists demonstrating the efficacy and safety of the S-ICD System for the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). "We are pleased with the...

Mobility is something most of us take for granted, and when we lose that ability through paralysis we lose a huge part of our independence. Now, a team of Swiss scientists are making strides in giving paraplegics back at least some of their mobility through the use of a new mind-controlled robot. The robot is controlled by the brainwaves of a paraplegic wearing an electrode-fitted cap. The person wearing the cap, Mark-Andre Duc, demonstrated the device from a hospital in the Swiss town of...

New technology bypasses spinal cord and delivers electrical signals from brain directly to muscles A new Northwestern Medicine brain-machine technology delivers messages from the brain directly to the muscles -- bypassing the spinal cord -- to enable voluntary and complex movement of a paralyzed hand. The device could eventually be tested on, and perhaps aid, paralyzed patients. "We are eavesdropping on the natural electrical signals from the brain that tell the arm and hand how to...

An artificial connection between the brain and muscles can restore complex hand movements in monkeys following paralysis, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. In a report in the journal Nature, researchers describe how they combined two pieces of technology to create a neuroprosthesis – a device that replaces lost or impaired nervous system function. One piece is a multi-electrode array implanted directly into the brain which serves as a brain-computer...

A new and radical breakthrough procedure may help doctors treat depression in their patients with the use of electrodes. Implanting electrodes in the brains of patients who suffer depression has been shown to be very effective, but is only recommended for patients who found no help with prescription medications. Now, after years of positive results from early field trials, Helen Mayberg, the neurologist pioneering this new treatment, is seeking FDA approval. The treatment is known as...

NATICK, Mass., April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announces CE Mark approval and European market launch of its INGENIO(TM) and ADVANTIO(TM) pacemakers and INVIVE(TM) cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers (CRT-P). One of the first implants of the INGENIO pacemaker occurred last week by Marc Burban, M.D., at the Nouvelles Cliniques Nantaises in Nantes, France. "The INGENIO family of pacemakers represents a significant investment in...

Bonn scientists prove that deep brain stimulation also has long-lasting effects People with severe depression are constantly despondent, lacking in drive, withdrawn and no longer feel joy. Most suffer from anxiety and the desire to take their own life. Approximately one out of every five people in Germany suffers from depression in the course of his/her life – sometimes resulting in suicide. People with depression are frequently treated with psychotherapy and medication. "However, many...